Vavrinec cruises through first round of Basel WTA tournament

The Swiss tennis star, Miroslava Vavrinec, has made a good start at the $140,000 WTA PreCon Ladies Open in Basel after winning through to the second round of the tournament.

The local favourite, currently ranked 90th in the world, caused the biggest upset of the day by toppling her opponent, eighth-seeded Ana Isabel Medina-Garigues, in the opening round, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4.

The nineteen-year-old Vavrinec easily outclassed her Spanish rival during a two and a half hour match played out in bright sunshine and sweltering temperatures.

“I fought hard and it paid off in the end,” Vavrinec said at the end of her encounter with Medina-Garigues.

Despite suffering from an upset stomach during the run-up to the competition in Basel which prevented her from training, the Swiss teenager used the first-round tie to prove why she is becoming known on the international circuit as a topspin specialist.

“Towards the end I got light stomach pains, because I was only able to eat a little over the weekend,” Vavrinec admitted after the match.

Vavrinec now goes on to meet either Patra Mandula or Adriane Gersi in the second round.

On Tuesday, top seed Silvia Farina of Italy plays Switzerland’s Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian, while Swiss star Patty Schnyder faces Asa Carlson of Sweden.

swissinfo with agencies